Storage-battery indicator.



K. KNUDSEN.

STORAGE BATTERY INDICATOR.

APPLICATION men JULY 31, 1914.

4 Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

mmssssi- INVENTOR Ka/sfiefi knadsefi mnsrnn KNUDSEN, or GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

sronnen-nhrirnmr INDICATOR.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I,-KARs'rEN KNUnsEN,-a citizen of theUnited States of Amerlca, re-' siding at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of- Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Storage-Battery Indicators; and I do hereby declare the followi-n :to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the invention, such as will enable-others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same. 7

This invention relates to an indicatorfor storage batteries, by means of which the condition of a battery relative to 1ts being fully charged may be determined.

It is the object and-purpose of this invention to make an indicator of this character of very simple construction and one which the ordinary person unexperienced in electrical mechanism may readily 'understand and use.

In storage batteries of the ordinary type, as the battery'becomes fully charged, gas is given olf therefrom, this gas during the charging of the battery and before the thorough desulfation thereof has been accomplished, being absorbed in the chemical reactions which takeplace in the battery. But as the battery becomes fully charged such chemical reactions come to an end. The gases resulting from the further supply of electrical current to the battery and the electrolysis of the liquid therein pass from the battery to the outside atmosphere. I have made use of this well known condition in the working of my indicator and therefrom anyone may readily determine whether or not their battery has been or is fully charged. The construction by which this result is obtained is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure l is a sectional and partial side view of an automobile showing the indicator as applied to the dash thereof. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of said indicator; and Fig. 3 isa sectional view through portions of the battery and indicator mechanism showing the interior construction thereof.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawing. l 3

This indicator will 'be used especially in Specification of nettei's Patent.

Application filed July. 31, 1914. Serial Nb. 854,357.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

applied to the dash 1 metal casing2 in the connection with automobiles and may be".

form of a short cylinder having both ends open but with one end tially to form the lip open at one end and having integral therewith, an upper outlet and a lower inlet stem 4, said stems extending to the rear and through openings 5 made in the dash. The cup 3 is closed at its open side by a glass closure 6 circular in outline and behind which a liquid 7 is retained partially filling the receptacle made by the cup member and its closure. The stems 4 are each bored making passageways 4 therein. To the lower of said stems a tubular conduit 8 is attached, said conduit leading to a plug 9 which has a passageway 10 therethrough communicating with the interior of the storage cell 11 as fully indicated in Fig. 3. The

turned inwardly par- 2 which .serves as; a,

retaining means for the cup-like member 3 upper of said stems 4 has also attached therewith a short tubular conduit 12 which also with the outside atmosphere so that any gases. which may pass through tube 12 and through the check valve may be discharged to the outer atmosphere. The valve contains the usual movable valve member 15 which operates to permit the passing of gases from the tube 12 through the stem 14 but which will automatically close to prevent the entrance of air through the stem 14 into the tube 12.

From this construction it will be seen that when the battery is fully charged and the gases are given 01f therefrom they will pass through the plug 9, conduit-8 and the lower stem 4 into the liquid 7 and will rise in said liquid in the form of bubbles 16 passing Which would be, if the check valve 13 was not used, to draw the liquid 7 into the said battery. The check valve however, serves as a preventive tov this undesired result. The conduit 8 is a flexible tubing and I have shown it supported by means of a band 17 extending around the check valve 13 and said conduit.

It will be clear that in an automobile the only partof the construction appearing to the operator thereof will be that on the dash consisting of the metal casing 2 and the glass front 6 through which appears the liquid 7, and if the battery is fully charged, the rising bubbles 16. All that is required to indicate if the battery is or has been fully charged is the presence of the rising bubbles and it is not necessary that anyone, for the understanding of this indicator, shall know anything whatever about the principles of electricity, the units of measurement thereof, or anything whatever about the construction, use or operation of secondary batteries or storage cells. The device is very simple in construction and can be very cheaply manufactured.

Various modifications in detail may be resorted to withoutdeparting from my invention. The construction shown, while of a practically operative form, is to be taken as dlagrammatlc and illustrative of the invention and not in any sense as limiting it to any precise construction other than is called for by the terms of the appended claims which define the invention.

I claim: a

1. In an automobile, a dash, a receptacle having a'transparent front member secured to the dash in position for observation, inlet and outlet stems extending from said receptacle through the dash, a. liquid partially filling the receptacle and covering the inlet, a conduit tube attached to each stem, a check valve attached to the opposite side of the dash and having connected thereto the conduit tube leading from the outlet, 2. storage battery, and a perforated plug fastened in a side thereof, the conduit attached to the inlet stem being attached to said plug, substantially as described.

2. In an automobile, a dash, a receptacle having a transparent side secured to the dash in position for observation, inlet and outlet stems extending from said receptacle, a liquid partially filling the receptacle, and covering the inlet, a storage battery, a perforated plug fastened in the side thereof, and a conduit interposed between the inlet stem. and said plug and attached thereto, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa- 'ture in presence of two witnesses.

KARSTEN KNUDSEN.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. LIVERANCE, Jr., HOWARD H. YARRINGTON. 

